Confronting someone's spouse about their whereabouts sounds like a straightforward task. Until it isn't. I'm not sure how the detectives are going to salvage this interview. 

"You can both go to hell. That is all I am saying...and I am not saying anything else!"

"Ma'am. Your husband gave us an alibi for where he was around 5:45 am but we need to know what time he left your house."

"Again. Go. To. Hell."

She is a tiny woman, only maybe 4 foot 9, and has a beautiful mane of long blond hair streaked with brown. It is clearly artificially colored but it works well on her. She has Kenny's son on her hip and he is staring at the detectives, thumbing his lip in the process. I don't understand why she is acting this way. It doesn't make sense.

"If we cannot verify his whereabouts then we will hold him for 24 hours. We can and will do that."

She sighs and steps aside, letting them in. 

Kenny's house is modest but they keep it nice. He lives in Honolulu, across the H-1 from the river. Multi-generations tend to live in homes here, often 3 generations in one tiny house. But it appears they are alone, just the three of them. 

"Is it just you three?"

Her face scrunches up and her jaw flexes. 

"Yes. Why?"

"Just wondering. It's got to be nice to just have you, your husband and child instead of in-laws as well."

"Well, his parents died and left us the place. What time do you need an alibi for?"

Detective Keele wasn't going to be rushed though. He obviously found her attitude to be odd and wanted to sus out why. I admired him for that. He had the experience that Jones lacked. 

"Is your marriage good?"

This infuriated Kenny's wife. She got very upset.

"Why the fuck do you need to know that? He didn't kill his employee, case closed."

"There is a reason why we are here. He is a suspect ma'am."

"He was home, ok. Home all night. Then he got up early and went to work."

"What time did he get up?"

"Jesus! I said early! Why are you both hounding me?! I know that he is cheating on me...I don't need reminded of it nor do I need to know details about it. I don't fucking care. I just want him to stay and take care of his family. We are expecting another kid."

If I could have choked on something this would have been the perfect moment to do it. Neither detective made a move, choosing instead to stare at Kenny's wife. It feels like a war of wits. 

"I saw the clock when he left. It was 4:30. Happy?"

4:30. That could have put him at my place. 

"Thank you ma'am. We appreciate your time. We will be in touch."

She gets up to let them out and grimaces.

"I fucking hope not."

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"This feels like a spiders web with our victim in the center. Only each suspect is a different type of spider."

Detective Keele grunts and then chuckles. 

"That's the job."

He turns and enters H-1, driving towards a farther Honolulu exit. 

"This case has been crazy though. I can't remember having so many suspects before. Ever. Not in all the years I have been doing this."

His omission sits in the air as he drives, heavy like a weight being dropped from a boat. My case really was something of an oddity. Maybe like those old board games 'Clue'. The inspector has to figure out who did it from a laundry list of guests. My long lost money from the land of the living was bet on the detectives to find out. I just hoped the killer wouldn't get away before they could. 

"How much longer do you think you will stay in Homicide?"

Detective Keele grunts again. 

"I can retire now. If I want."

The neighborhoods we wind through are a bit higher class, mostly white collar workers in condos. I'm not surprised that Lila lived here. Though I have no idea what her husband actually does.

"What does this guy do again?"

"He works as a marketing supervisor. 100% remote."

"Lucky fuck."

"Yep..."

Finally they find the right building and park. It looks expensive, more so than even mine. Being married must have benefits I suppose. 

"Hopefully the husband will be more cooperative than the wife!" 

Detective Keele grunts as he exits the vehicle. 

"One way to find out. And we get to the truth."

As we all walk in I flash to the scrap of paper on the edge of Lila's desk with my name on it. Why had she written my name down? It was perhaps the biggest clue I'd find that she thought I knew about her and Kenny. No matter, I can't do anything about it anyway. I am dead remember. Simply a floating spectator to the living world. 

We find Lila's front door out of the lineup of others, an elaborate summer wreath prominently affixed to the painted façade. Orange birds of prey jutted out to greet us. Detective Jones knocks as we wait patiently. 

"Coming!" A voice calls out. 

 Heavy steps sound and the door opens, shocking us all. There stands a very large man, tall and heftily overweight. He smiles and asks if he could help us. My spirit jaw was on the ground. He was Lila's husband?! 

"We're homicide detectives with Honolulu PD." Detective Jones says, flashing his badge as detective Keele does the same. "Can we come in and ask you a few questions?" 

Lila's husband looks worried suddenly. 

"Is Lila ok?!" 

"Yes....yes...she's perfectly fine. It's about her fellow employee." 

"Come in..." 

He ushers us into the minimalist apartment decorated in aquas and whites. It's beautiful and the view is too, the ocean peeking between buildings across the street. I hover as they sit on the sprawling low leather couch. 

"I know one of the guest services workers was murdered...but Lila didn't say much else about it. The local news was vague as well. Only saying she was incredibly young." 

Detective Keele pulls out his small notebook and flips to a new page. 

"Can you tell us where your wife was four days ago at around 5 am?"

🩸

"This is embarrassing." 

The large man gets up to grab a kit from the kitchen counter. He is apologetic and clearly embarrassed. I have no idea what he's got until I see him pricking his finger. 

He's diabetic. 

"She left for work earlier than 5 am. Always goes to the gym. The one we have downstairs in our building." 

The detectives watch as Lila's husband finishes up giving himself insulin and then comes to rest on the couch again, his breathing labored. I still can't fathom Lila being married to someone as overweight as this guy was. There has to be a backstory here. 

"Have you always been diabetic, if you don't mind me asking?" 

Detective Jones must have a reason for asking, otherwise it sounds a tad rude. 

"Oh God no! I used to be fit, and believe it or not, muscular!" 

He takes his phone out and shows the detectives him as an ultra fit guy, tanned and muscled up. Even I am shocked. What had happened?

"Got into a horrific car wreck on the mainland 2 years ago. Lila took me to Vegas for my birthday. We got into a taxi that was blindsided by a drunk driver. The cab driver died but Lila and I survived. She turned to clean eating and going to the gym, which is how I used to be and I started eating junk. I haven't coped well since the wreck." 

Detective Keele nodded sympathetically. You can never guess how you'll react to a traumatic situation. I feel bad for him. Even more so knowing that he was being cheated on. 

"So you say she used the gym here. Did she often leave that early on weekday mornings?" 

"She always leaves before 5 to work out. Usually around 4:45. Even on weekends. Guess I'm getting a taste of my own workout medicine from all the years I would leave for the gym." 

He chuckles but it sounds sad. What a bleak marriage. 

"Detective Jones and I will check with the security cameras in the building to verify what your saying. Thank you for providing an alibi." 

The hefty husband stands and labors to straighten his clothing. We make our way to the front door. 

"You guys will probably find out at some point in your investigation...Lila is cheating on me." 

Detective Keele stops and frowns. 

"You know?" 

Her husband nods. 

"Oh yes, I know. Sadly, right? I'm the fat fool that lets it happen because I don't want to be alone." 

"Do you know who she's cheating with?" 

"Not specifically...but I assume it's people from work." 

Poor guy. I feel absolutely terrible for him. 

"People?" Detective Keele asks, his interest obviously peeked. 

"Yeah, she's bisexual. Likes both men and women." 

As we exit the the apartment, I get the feeling that the detectives were handed more than they wanted to know. 

"These suspects man..." Detective Jones says softly. 

"I know." 

~ This book is Copyrighted by K E Jennings and only available on Wattpad. if you are reading this on another site, it has been stolen without permission or monetary payment to the said author. ~

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Fun Hawaiian Fact: Hawaii is the southernmost of all the 50 states.